What was promised during the election campaign
The Accountability Act promises to:
- Give the Public Service Integrity Commissioner the power to enforce compliance with the Act.
- Ensure that all Canadians who report government wrongdoing are protected, not just public servants.
- Remove the government’s ability to exempt Crown corporations and other bodies from the Act.
- Require the prompt public disclosure of information revealed by whistleblowers, except where national security or the security of individuals is affected.
- Ensure that whistleblowers have access to the courts and that they are provided with adequate legal counsel.
- Establish monetary rewards for whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing or save taxpayers dollars.
These are sensible and necessary measures, and exactly the kind of action required to make it harder for wrongdoers to suppress the truth. Click here to see the original election campaign document. (This will open in a new window.)
FAIR's commentary on what was delivered
FAIR's Testimony to the Senate
Click here for FAIR's WRITTEN TESTIMONY to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, on September 25, 2006. This submission sets out why the whistleblower provisions put forward are flawed and will inevitably fail, and proposes what needs to be done to make the legislation effective.
Click here to obtain this document as a .pdf file. (This will open in a new window.)
Related documents entered into the record:
- GAP's Twenty-Three Point Checklist for Effective Whistleblower Protection (This will open in a new window as a .pdf file).
- The OAS Model Law Protecting Freedom of Expression Against Corruption (This will open in a new window.)
- Explanatory Notes to the OAS Model Law (This will open in a new window.)
Click here for a full TRANSCRIPT of the afternoon's proceedings.
(This will open in a new window.) FAIR's testimony began at 4:15 p.m.
Click here for FAIR's Proposed Amendments to the Legislation
(This will open in a new window as a .pdf file.)
FAIR's testimony to the Commons
Click here for FAIR's WRITTEN TESTIMONY presented to Legislative Committee CC-2 on May 10th, 2006. This submission examines the six election promises related to whistleblower protection, and evaluates how well the new legislation fufils each of these.
Click here to obtain this document as a .pdf file. (This will open in a new window.)
Click here for a full TRANSCRIPT of the proceedings.
(This will open in a new window.)
The Senate's attempt to amend the legislation
The Senate responded to testimony from FAIR and others by passing fifteen substantive amendments designed to strengthen the PSDPA. All of these were rejected by the government.
Click here for FAIR's analysis of Senate amendments to the PSDPA